Ottawa Sexual Interference Lawyer

A charge of sexual interference can severely impact you legally and reputationally. Defendants face imprisonment, a lifelong criminal record, registration on the sex offender’s registry, and damage to their reputation that can be difficult to bear.

Yet many people are wrongly accused of this offence—and still suffer adverse consequences.

At David Anber’s Law Office in Ottawa, our lawyers are experienced in dealing with cases involving sexual interference and can defend the charges against you to help limit the impact on your future.

What is sexual interference?

Sexual interference is a criminal offence committed by an individual who touches, with a part of the body or with an object, another person under the age of consent for a sexual purpose.

Sexual interference is often “grouped” with the crime of invitation to sexual touching. These offences are outlined in Section 151 and Section 152 of the Canadian Criminal Code. They can be summarized as follows:

• Sexual interference: the touching of any part of the body of a young person for a sexual purpose.
• Invitation to sexual touching: inviting, counselling or inciting a young person to touch the body of any person for a sexual purpose.

The age of consent in Canada is usually 16 but this depends partly on the age of the other participant in the sex act.

In the majority of cases, a person under the age of 16 cannot legally provide consent to sexual activity. Even if the complainant is over 16 years of age but under 18, the defendant may still be convicted of a sex crime if, at the time of the assault, he/she was in a position of trust and authority with the complainant or had a relationship of dependency with the complainant.

In such cases, the accused may be charged with sexual exploitation under Section 153 of the Criminal Code.

Many cases of institutional sexual abuse are charged as sexual exploitation. Religious leaders, sports coaches, and teachers are in a position of trust over the victim so they can be prosecuted even if the alleged victim is over the age of 16.

It should also be noted that family members like parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents may also considered to have relationships of dependency positions with persons under the age of 18 and can, therefore, be charged with this crime.

What are the penalties for a sexual interference conviction in Ottawa?

Sexual interference is a hybrid offence in Canada, which means that it can be prosecuted as a summary conviction offence or by indictment (more serious).

Both types of offences attract a minimum terms of incarceration for sexual interference:

• 90 days imprisonment for a summary conviction
• One year imprisonment for an indictment

The maximum penalty for an indictable offence is 14 years incarceration and, for a summary offence, two years (less one day) incarceration. In Canada, any time in custody for indictable sentences of two years or more is served in federal prison rather than a provincial jail. Sentences of less than two years may be served in a provincial correctional institution.

In addition to imprisonment, anyone convicted of the offence will need to register on the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), which is a federal database. For Ottawa-based offenders, registration is also required on the Ontario sex offender registry, which is the provincial database.

The police can access these registries, which contain the name, address, photographs, and description of the offence associated with each offender. Under the terms of registration, offenders must keep the records up to date if they change address, name or any other detail.

For some sex offences like sexual interference, a prohibition order from the court may prevent contact between the offender and people under the age of 16 for a certain period or even for life. These prohibition orders can contain other stipulations, such as:

• Prohibition from going to public parks where people under the age of 16 would be expected to be, and/or
• Prohibition from employment that involves working with young people, and/or
• Prohibition from owning or possessing weapons and firearms, and/or
• Restrictions on Internet use

Another serious consequence of a conviction for sexual interference is a lifelong criminal record. Even without an accompanying prohibition order from the court, this can affect employment, travel, immigration status, and more.

Possible defence strategies for sexual interference

Because of the potentially harsh consequences of a conviction, building a viable defence to the charge of sexual interference is essential.

For many types of sexual offences, consent or an honest but mistaken belief in consent are valid defences against the charges. With sexual interference, consent cannot usually be put forward as a defence because a person under the age of 16 cannot legally provide informed consent for sexual activity with an adult.

The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the contact between the complainant and the accused was for a sexual purpose—and this is often the focus of defence strategies for sexual interference cases.

Absent consent, valid defences to sexual interference may include the following:

• Mistaken belief that the complainant was 16 years or older: this is only a valid defence if the accused took all reasonable steps to confirm that the complainant was 16 or over.
• Mistaken or false allegations: the sexual activity never occurred (often used if it can be shown that the complainant was angry at the accused).
• The touching was accidental: the contact was casual and unintentional with no intent to engage in sexual activity.
• There was contact but it was not sexual: the touching was not for a sexual purpose and the complainant may have misinterpreted the intent.
• Mistaken identity: the wrong person has been accused of the crime.

“Reasonable steps” to ascertain the age of the complainant might include asking the complainant how old they are or checking their identification. The defendant cannot simply state that they thought that the complainant was 16 years of age or older.

It should be noted that consent may be used in some sexual interference cases where the age difference between the complainant and the defendant is either less than two or less than five years (depending on the age of the complainant) AND the following also apply:

• There is no position of trust or authority toward the complainant
• They are not in a relationship of dependency, and
• No exploitation of the complainant has occurred

Defending a sexual interference charge in Ottawa

The potentially devastating consequences of a sexual interference charge for individuals and families mean that a wrongful charge must be defended vigorously.

These sensitive matters are best handled by lawyers with considerable experience in defending sex crime charges and dealing with the reputational damage that often accompanies the charges.

In Canada, we value the presumption of innocence and the right to defend yourself against charges. As a Canadian citizen, you must legally be seen as innocent of the charge until you are proven to be guilty.

David Anber’s Law Office has represented many people accused of sexual offences including sexual interference. To schedule a free consultation to speak with one of our experienced criminal defence lawyers, call us toll-free at 1-888­­-989­­-3946 or contact us online.